Research Associate, Energy Modelling

Priority may be given to the following designated employment equity groups: women, Indigenous peoples* (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities and racialized persons*.
 

* The Employment Equity Act, which is under review, uses the terminology Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.
 

City: Ottawa 

Organizational Unit: Construction 

Classification: RO 

Tenure: Term 

Duration: 2 years

Language Requirements: English  

Note: While the official location of work for this position will be Ottawa, the option of an offsite or a hybrid work arrangement (a combination of working onsite and offsite) may be possible. 

The NRC Advantage

Great Minds. One Goal. Canada’s Success.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is the Government of Canada’s largest research organization supporting industrial innovation, the advancement of knowledge and technology development. We collaborate with over 70 colleges, universities and hospitals annually, work with 800 companies on their projects, and provide advice or funding to over 8000 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) each year.

We bring together the brightest minds to deliver tangible impacts on the lives of Canadians and people around the world. And now, we want to partner with you.  Let your expertise and inspirations make an impact by joining the NRC.

At the NRC, we know that diversity enables excellence in research and innovation. We are committed to a diverse and representative workforce, a safe and respectful work environment, and contributing to a more inclusive Canadian innovation system.  We welcome all qualified applicants and encourage you to complete the employment equity self-declaration questions during the job application process.

Please let us know of any accommodation measures required to help you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Please note that the information you provide will be treated confidentially. 

Your Challenge

Help bring research to life and drive your career forward with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada’s largest research and technology organization.
 

We are looking for an early-career Research Associate, Energy Modelling to support our Construction Research Centre.  The Research Associate, Energy Modelling would be someone who shares our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.
NRC Construction is implementing the “Platform to Decarbonize the Construction Sector at Scale” to accelerate and scale up new technologies to help transition the Canadian construction sector towards decarbonization and contribute to the emerging low-carbon economy. It will also establish new codes, standards, specifications, and guidelines to position the sector to achieve its 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon reduction targets. These investments will help spur the growth of Canada’s clean technology sector and help achieve Canada’s international commitments to reduce GHG emissions.
With a background in understanding how energy use in the residential building sector results in green house gas emissions, technologies that can be used to mitigate those emissions and tools to predict the effectiveness of these technologies, The primary responsibility of this RA is to support the goals of NRC’s Integrated Building Performance team, and other projects served by the Intelligent Building Operations unit. These goals require research of international caliber and the development and application of advanced technologies to support the needs of our numerous industry partners. The RA works in a team environment with researchers and technical experts in world-class facilities. Activities also include the development of proposals for new research initiatives, effective project management, and support to the enhancement of facilities, and communication of research plans and results to stakeholders.
 

Screening Criteria

Applicants must demonstrate within the content of their application that they meet the following screening criteria in order to be given further consideration as candidates:

Education

As part of the RA Program you must have received your PhD in Building Science, Electrical, Mechanical or Civil Engineering, or a Master’s degree in Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical or Civil) within the last five years or you expect to receive the degree within the next six months.

For information on certificates and diplomas issued abroad, please see Degree equivalency

Experience

•    Significant experience in residential building performance simulation with the goal of identifying mechanisms to reduce energy use and understand building performance.
•    Significant experience in evaluating the environmental impact of residential-sector energy use and technologies/methods to reduce the associated GHG emissions at the building and community level.

•    Significant experience of using scripting/programming languages and data analysis tools (e.g. MATLAB, Python, R, Ruby, FORTRAN) to manage large-scale building simulation studies.

•    Experience in simulation of building integrated/small scale renewable energy systems. 

•    Experience of validating/calibrating simulation models against experimental data.

•    Experience in the full spectrum of research activities including identification of research requirements, proposal writing, project management, data production and analysis, and reporting through written documentation, presentations and publishing.

•    Experience in working in multi-disciplinary teams. 

The following may be considered as assets:

•    Experience working with Canadian provincial and national building codes, and other relevant and voluntary standards such as CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standards;

•    Experience with Linux/Unix environments, Docker, and versioning control with git;
•    Experience in business development, marketing activities, and/or the development of partnerships and collaborations
 

Condition of Employment

Reliability Status

Language Requirements

English

Assessment Criteria

Candidates will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Technical Competencies

•    Knowledge of building science and HVAC design/operation.
•    Knowledge of GHG emissions from building operation.
 
•    Knowledge of building scale renewable energy systems and their integration into building energy systems.
 
•    Knowledge of mathematical modelling of building energy systems.
 
•    Knowledge of building simulation tools for energy performance (e.g. EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, HOT2000).
 
•    Knowledge of scripting/programming languages such as Ruby or FORTRAN.
 
•    Knowledge of data analysis tools such as R or MATLAB.
 

Behavioural Competencies

• Research – Teamwork (Level 2)
• Research – Results orientation (Level 2)
• Research – Creative thinking (Level 3)
• Research – Self-knowing and self-development (Level 1)
• Research – Communication (Level 2)

Competency Profile(s)

For this position, the NRC will evaluate candidates using the following competency profile(s):  Research

View all competency profiles

Relocation

Relocation assistance will be determined in accordance with the NRC’s directives.

Compensation

The intent of this hiring action is to staff through the Research Associate (RA) Program at the AsRO level, which is an early-career level position with a salary range of $74,230 to $103,093.

NOTE: Salary determination will be based on a review of the candidate’s expertise, outcomes and impacts of their previous work experience relative to the requirements of the level.  As a guide, the current annual PhD recruiting rate is $74,230.

NRC employees enjoy a wide-range of competitive benefits including comprehensive health and dental plans, pension and insurance plans, vacation and other leave entitlements.

Notes

Application Requirements:
 

In order to be considered for the Research Associate program please include the following in your application. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from searches.
 

• Resume
• Transcript
   

When submitting your application you can include the required documents in any attachment field such as «Second language evaluation results» or «Other attachments».

• Preference will be given to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada.
• The incumbent must adhere to safe workplace practices at all times.
• We thank all those who apply, however only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Please direct your questions, with the requisition number (13464) to:

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone : 343-597-5095 

Closing Date: 2 December 2022– 23:59 Eastern Time 

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